Tar Heels Defeat Temple for their First Team Win

Friday, January 19

Chapel Hill

7 p.m.

North Carolina

195.300

194.375

Temple

Mikayla Robinson earned new career-high scores on vault (9.800) and floor (9.900).

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

January 19, 2018 | Women's Gymnastics

Complete Results Photo Gallery

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The Tar Heels secured their first win of the season by defeating Temple 195.300 to 194.375 Friday night in Carmichael Arena to bring their record to 1-1. Carolina finished first in all four events as Madison Nettles finished vault with a 9.825, Grace Donaghy led on uneven bars with a 9.800 and Alexis Allen and Mikayla Robinson both scored personal bests of 9.900 on balance beam and floor exercise, respectively.

"We took [pre-season conditioning] to a higher level than we have in previous years and I think that's paying dividends," UNC head coach Derek Galvin said. "I know it is. They look stronger, they feel stronger, they feel more confident. That huge sophomore class that we have now, they were all freshmen last year just trying to adjust to college gymnastics. They're making that adjustment. That's how Alexis [Allen] went 9.900 on beam tonight and Mikayla [Robinson] went 9.900 on floor… Having another year's experience, I think the team trusts in each other and they trust in the work that we've been doing. That's what we've asked them to do. We've pushed them hard in training and they've responded to that. They haven't backed off. They've pushed themselves and when you do that, you can start to have more trust in the work that you've done and feel more confident when you compete."

Carolina showed off some of that confidence in the first rotation on the vault with a season-best team score of 49.000 while securing the top four spots on the night. Madison Nettles, Kaitlynn Hedelund and Khazia Hislop all tied for first place in the event with scores of 9.825, and Mikayla Robinson took fourth place with a career-high score of 9.800. Madison Hargrave also contributed to the Tar Heels total with a score of 9.725.

Leading the Owls by a score of 49.000 to 48.650 heading in to the second event, the Tar Heels scored a 48.600 on the uneven bars but were just edged out by Temple with a score of 48.650. Shining bright for the Tar Heels on the bars were Grace Donaghy who finished first in the event with a score of 9.800 and Morgan Lane who took second with a score of 9.775. Hedelund tied for third in the event with a score of 9.750 while Mekyllah Williams finished with a 9.650 and Raine Gordon scored a season high with a 9.625. Carolina finished the second event still leading Temple 97.600 to 97.275.

Looking to improve on their balance beam performance from last week, the Tar Heels did not disappoint as they took home the top four scores on the night. They were led by Alexis Allen who finished first in the event with a career best of 9.900 . Lane and Hislop both scored 9.850 to tie for second place and Hedelund was right behind them for fourth-place honors with a score of 9.775.

After a strong showing on the balance beam, the Tar Heels went in to the fourth and final event leading the Owls 146.150 to 145.950. Robinson completed the sweep of first-place finishes for the Tar Heels by recording a personal best of 9.900 to kick off the floor routines. Nettles tied for second-place honors with a score of 9.825 while Weisel and Hislop tied for fourth with scores of 9.800. Lily Dean also ended up in a tie for sixth place with a score of 9.775.

While thankful for their success on the floor, the North Carolina gymnastics team also felt grateful for all of the organizations and fans who came out to celebrate inclusion and equality for all.

"There are so many incredibly talented people on this campus and in the state of North Carolina, around the country, that come from populations that are sometimes marginalized," Coach Galvin said. "We have a very diverse team. Part of my role, I think the role of any coach, is more than just coaching your athletes on their sport. It's empowering them — when they leave Carolina or wherever they are — to be people who will make a difference. We can't ask them to do that unless we set that example and by having an event like this, I wanted to certainly support everyone on my team because it is such a diverse team. I feel like Carolina is such a great place and we do so many great things. The chancellor [Carol Folt] was here tonight supporting this event. Honoring and celebrating the diversity on this campus is the right thing to do. If we don't, we're shortchanging ourselves. We're shortchanging everyone because there are so many amazing people here. We just wanted to express that."

Next week, the Tar Heels head to the road for the first time this season and will take on the Towson Tigers in Towson, Maryland. Competition begins at 7 p.m on Friday, Jan. 26th.